Matterhorn | When Plates Collide (photo by unlimited inspirations)

There’s something amazing that has happened over millions of years. Continental plates first separated and then collided, launching up the Alps when plates overlapped each other. Though Matterhorn is a very amazing site to see out of all the mountains in the Alps, because of its pyramid shape (due to erosion) and the result of the Apulian Plate (part of the African Plate which broke off) and Eurasian Plate collision. The top of Matterhorn is composed of gneisses from the African continent, where the lower parts are full of sedimentary rock and greenschists from the oceanic crust of the ancient Piemont-Liguria Ocean that separated Laurasia and Gondwana during the mid-late Mesozoic Era.

Matterhorn is located at the border of Italy and Switzerland in the Pennine Alps. It is one of the tallest mountains in the Alps, surpassing 14,500 feet.

(via lar-z-arous)

6 months ago  /  3,523 notes  /  Source: geologise